I'm so excited to share this review with you all today! I have been using these products for the last two weeks and I think they are absolutely fabulous.

Melati is a brand that is based in DUMBO Brooklyn, New York and is owned by Leah who was so kind and sent me this adorable gift set. Leah started Melati as an alternative to common household soaps and skincare products that are made with animal byproducts. Leah's products are vegan (free from animal products) as well as being cruelty free.

One of the first thing's I noticed about these products is how amazing they smell! Many popular brands of skincare have an artificial scent to them. These Melati products are made with essential oils and smell incredibly fresh.

Hey everyone, this is an exciting week. My giveaway winner was announced, my final semester of college has begun, and I got a vlog camera!

This semester I will be taking a course that focuses on vlogging and making Youtube videos. I set up my camera today and I'm so excited (and nervous) about beginning. I'm hoping that the quality of my blog photos will also increase. I took a photography class in high school and have always loved it, but I haven't really put much thought into it since then and didn't have the right equipment. I also began making graphics for my channel, I'm not clear on if I'm going to keep the color scheme I have but I love what I've designed so far.

I also have a ton of new review posts in the works but I want to be sure I use the items for a good span of time before posting the review, so unfortunately I don't have one ready for today. I also just wanted to check in quickly between classes, so sorry for the hastiness of this post.

I've only been to Brooklyn once, and that was for my trip to HP. I have been growing more and more intrigued by Brooklyn since beginning to send my resume to various companies in the New York City area for after graduation, and my rewatching of Gossip Girl (sorry not sorry).

Becca, who I have been in contact with through the blogosphere since our collaborative posts (x, x) last year, and I decided to meet up and embark on a 'Made in Brooklyn Tour' given by Dom Gervasi. I don't want to give away every stop on the tour, but Becca and I had such an awesome time checking out all the shops and hearing about different landmarks in the area. I would recommend everyone take a tour from Dom, even if you're native to the area.

Happy New Year! I hope you had a wonderful time celebrating with friends and family or at least maybe a relaxing day off. During winter intercession I have been trying to get through the stack of books, magazines, and PR kits I have acquired but didn't have time to read during the semester. A few things stuck out to me and I wanted to share them with you along with some recent purchases!

December Favorites

Teen Vogue's December 2016 Issue; Now I realize I'm probably a bit old to be flipping through the pages of Teen Vogue but thanks to Verizon Smart Rewards (which I suggest looking into if you're a Verizon customer) I seem to have an unending subscription. Teen Vogue has disappointed me over the past few years, they began selling more adspace and focusing their stories soley on movie shoots and catwalks. ---That's fine, they are a fashion magazine after all, but I felt that they lost substance along the way. I had been letting any Teen Vogue Issues that arrived at my door sit in a pile. This weekend I took the train to the city and grabbed the December issue on my way out the door just for something to flip through. Although the magazine has gotten thinner since my first time reading at 12 years old, I was so impressed with the content in this issue. Being that the articles were written during the election there were articles about privilege, feminism, and there was even one about literature. Teen Vogue is once again something I'm proud to be reading.

About Me

'A Cruelty Free Me' (formerly Simply Luxe) started in 2015. As a communications student I was required to take a course in public speaking and decided to inform my class about laboratory testing for my informative speech.
After giving the presentation, I began to realize how difficult it can sometimes be to find alternatives to the every day products that I didn't previously know were tested on animals. I decided to challenge myself to find the best alternatives to products I used previous to learning about animal testing. This blog is my space to review and share those finds.
'A Cruelty Free Me' includes posts about cruelty free skincare, makeup, and haircare, as well as fitness related content.